Tag: Solomon Thomas

Solomon Thomas named Jets’ nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

Solomon Thomas named Jets’ nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

The NFL released the 32 nominees (one for each team) for the 2022 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The Jets’ nominee is defensive tackle Solomon Thomas.

The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field. The award was established in 1970. It was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton. Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community.

Representing the best of the NFL’s commitment to philanthropy and community impact, 32 players are selected as their team’s Man of the Year and become eligible to win the national award.

The winner of the award each year receives a $250,000 donated to the winner’s charity of choice. All other 31 nominees receive up to $40,000 donated to their charity of choice. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation and Nationwide.

Thomas is co-founder of “The Defensive Line“, a non-profit organization designed to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention work. He started the organization in honor of his late sister, Ella, who died by suicide in 2018.

In addition, Thomas has also worked with many other charities, hosted youth football camps and, for the holidays this season, “hosted a Turkey Giveaway in partnership with Interfaith Food Pantry Network in Morris Plains, NJ, and will host a Shop with a Jock Christmas shopping spree with Boys and Girls Club of Hoboken which will provide the kids with a gift card from Walmart.”

“It’s the highest of honors to be nominated for Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award for the New York Jets. I’m blessed to have a platform to impact lives and give back to help others,” said Thomas. “I believe it’s a duty of ours to uplift those fighting for better, a duty I will hold forever.”

Fans can also participate in the Charity Challenge, which helps support and promote team nominees. You can vote on Twitter using #WPMOYChallenge and then the last name or Twitter handle of your favorite nominee. So to vote for Thomas, tweet #WPMOYChallenge Thomas or #WPMOYChallenge @SollyThomas90. The winning nominee for the Challenge receives a $25,000 contribution to their charity of choice, $10,000 for second place and $5,000 for third place.

The winner of the award will be announced the week of the Super Bowl in February.

Solomon Thomas contract details: Jets DL can earn big incentive payout

Jets DL Solomon Thomas can significantly increase the value of his new deal through incentives.

Solomon Thomas stands to make some extra money with the Jets if he steps up his production.

The defensive lineman, who signed a one-year deal with Gang Green, can earn $340,000 in per-game roster bonuses and $1.5 million in performance incentives, per The Athletic’s Connor Hughes. Thomas’ deal came with a $1.434 million base salary and a $476,000 signing bonus.

His cap hit is $2.25 million.

It makes sense for Thomas and the Jets to sign a deal that includes a sizeable incentive package. Thomas has not been all that impactful since the 49ers drafted him third overall in 2017, something he’s aware of. The 26-year-old has just 9.5 sacks in 65 career games.

However, a career-high 3.5 of those sacks came last year, Thomas’ only season with the Raiders, and the Jets are always looking for rotational defensive line depth. Thomas, meanwhile, knows New York’s defense well from his time with Robert Saleh in San Francisco.

That makes this deal a low-risk, high-reward situation for the Jets as Thomas looks to realize his potential.

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4 takeaways from Jets’ signing of Solomon Thomas

Solomon Thomas hasn’t lived up to his top-three draft pick status, but he can still bring value to the Jets after signing Monday.

The Jets added some depth on the defensive line Monday, signing former third overall pick Solomon Thomas to a one-year deal.

Thomas spent the first four seasons of his career playing under Robert Saleh with the 49ers. He suited up for the Raiders last season. The 26-year-old has scheme familiarity and plenty of experience in a winning culture, which should make him an asset for New York on and off the field.

Here are four takeaways from Gang Green’s newest addition in the trenches.

Jets sign former 49ers, Raiders DE Solomon Thomas

Soloman Thomas, the third-overall pick in 2017, is heading to the Jets on a one-year deal. The ex-49er will reunite with Robert Saleh.

Another former 49er is joining the Jets.

New York is signing DE Soloman Thomas to a one-year deal, per multiple reports. The move reunites Thomas, 26, with Robert Saleh, who coached Thomas from 2017-2020 with the 49ers.

Thomas spent the 2021 season with the Raiders.

The 49ers drafted Thomas third overall in 2017, but he only tallied six sacks, 23 QB hits and 95 combined tackles in 48 games for San Francisco. Thomas finished with two sacks, 12 QB hits and 35 combined tackles in 2021.

This is a low-risk, high-reward move for the Jets. Thomas is a young defensive lineman with ties to Saleh, but he hasn’t lived up to expectations yet. Thomas provides New York with desired depth up front, though, especially with Carl Lawson still recovering from an Achilles injury suffered last summer.

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Former Raiders DT Solomon Thomas lands with Jets

Solomon Thomas has found a landing spot in New York with Jets

Solomon Thomas signed on with the Raiders last offseason in the hopes of resurrecting is once promising career. The former number three overall pick even said more than once that switching from 5-tech DE to 3-tech DT would be the thing that did it. That didn’t prove to be the solution.

Things started off looking like he might make the most of his one-year ‘prove-it’ deal, but down the stretch he regressed to the mean and simple became expendable.

So, what is the answer? Apparently it’s returning to play under his former DC Robert Saleh, now the head coach with the Jets.

Perhaps Saleh thinks Thomas is ready now to be the player the 49ers picked at third overall in Saleh’s first year as a defensive coordinator. That first year was Thomas’s best in the NFL in terms overall numbers. Saleh is hoping the 26-year-old can return to fulfill his potential now.

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Must watch: Raiders DT Solomon Thomas’s ‘Breathe’ on turning tragedy into inspiration

Raiders DT Solomon Thomas’s ‘Breathe’ on turning tragedy into inspiration

This video is worth your time. Especially if you have ever dealt with loss and tragedy.

Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks stumble upon ‘secret sauce’ to Raiders newfound pass rush

Daniel Jeremiah digs up stat that suggests Raiders newfound pass rush is no fluke

Over the first couple weeks of this season, some interesting stats show the Raiders are getting some extraordinary pressure. If you’d like to pump the brakes, it’s easy enough to say that it’s been just two games. Or you could listen to Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks whose recent show seems to have stumbled upon a formula that the Raiders have which suggests these first two weeks are no fluke.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CULZWPOBkQE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

The thrust of the show was analyzing ‘get-off’ as it relates to great pass rushers. Which is how much time from the ball coming off the ground on the snap to when the defender’s shoulders come across the line of scrimmage. And it appears as if there is a near perfect correlation between the two.

Jeremiah lists off names of the players in the top ten in get-off time last season and this season. And there are some elite pass rushers at the top of it. For instance, he mentions the top five last year being TJ Watt, Bud Dupree, Carl Lawson, Yannick Ngakoue, and Myles Garrett.

That’s a hell of a list. One of whom — Ngakoue — joined the Raiders this offseason, and instantly we see an improved pass rush.

“We’ve talked about maybe the most improved defense in the NFL through two weeks, the Raiders,” Jeremiah said. “You’ve got Ngakoue, who for the second year in a row — obviously last year he wasn’t with the Raiders — he’s in the top five. So, he’s proven what he does getting off the rock. So, Ngakoue’s up there, he’s number three. Maxx Crosby’s number seven. So, you’ve got two rockets coming off the edges there for the Raiders.”

The play of Crosby and Ngakoue has a trickle down effect. A high tide raises all boats, if you will. Carl Nassib has been adding pass rush as well and the interior guys have been given some chances too due to the outside pressure. For instance, last week Solomon Thomas had his first ever two-sack game.

Bucky Brooks takes it a step further, mentioning that having an outstanding defensive line coach is also crucial to helping these players find their game.

“I think you have to pay a premium for the positions that we say are vital when it comes to coaching. Not only paying for pass rushers and offensive linemen, but if i’m a head coach in the National Football League, the first couple areas that I’m taking care of are the offensive and defensive line. . . I am investing in those guys, because I think there’s the secret sauce to being able to be a great defensive line coach.”

Brooks could be onto something, and Jon Gruden would seem to agree. We already know that when Gruden came back to coaching in 2018, he made Tom Cable a top priority to coach the Oline. And last year, he was able to get longtime well-respected Dline coach, Rod Marinelli onboard as well.

Maxx Crosby is entering his second season under Marinelli, who Gruden held onto even with the change at defensive coordinator and overhauling most of the rest of the defensive staff. And clearly we’re seeing the benefits of that time they’ve had together.

It’s weird and foreign to be talking about the Raiders as having a good all-around pass rush. They’ve had the league’s worst pass rush over the last few years since trading away Khalil Mack. And seemingly overnight, they are discussed among the best in the league. Now we know why.

Raiders DT Solomon Thomas offers words of support for Simone Biles ‘definition of strength’

Raiders DT Solomon Thomas offers words of support for Simone Biles

Every so often there are incidents in sports that transcend sports. Things that invoke a strong response from even those who may not even follow sports. And, unfortunately, especially in today’s political climate, those things can often be polarizing. Everyone seems to need to weigh in with some strong opinion one way or the other.

Recently, two professional athletes saw their choices to step away from competition for mental health reasons met such strong reactions which included considerable scrutiny.

First, was professional tennis player Naomi Osaka, who pulled out of a tournament, citing mental health issues. And most recently it was 19-time Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles who pulled out of team competition at the Olympics.

Biles’s decision drew even harsher scrutiny than Osaka, primarily because the talking heads felt righteous indignation due to Biles representing the US in the Olympics.

Raiders defensive tackle Solomon Thomas has been an outspoken advocate for removing the stigma placed on mental health. For him, what Osaka and Biles did was vitally important not just for them, but for others who may struggle with mental health and speaking out about it. He had some powerful words of support for the two athletes.

“I paid a lot of attention to that with Naomi Osaka speaking out,” Thomas said Friday… “And Simone Biles, obviously. They are at the top of all athletes. And for them to be able to have that strength and vulnerability to say that ‘hey, I’m going to take care of myself, that is unbelievable strength and just unbelievable in general.

“People understand the pressure that’s on those athletes. They legit have the weight of the world on their shoulders, especially within their individual sport. I feel like it’s extremely important for them to be talking about it on the stage that they’re on and I think it’s huge that they’re doing that. I’m just very happy about that. Happy to see the positive responses from people, from people supporting them.

“All the negative critics and everything that you hear, that’s the stigma that we’re fighting. That’s what we’re fighting every day. That’s why we’re talking this way — athletes are talking, people are talking, psychologists and therapists are all talking. because that stigma that we’re fighting. If it was an ankle injury, we wouldn’t be talking about it. But because it’s a mental health issue we’re talking about it because people don’t understand how serious that can affect an athlete, how serious that can affect a person.

“For them to talk about it on the highest stage of the world is so huge and I’m just very thankful for them talking out and I stand with them in every way. And I’m very appreciative of their strength and vulnerability. That’s the definition of strength if you ask me.”

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5 Raiders entering make-or-break seasons in 2021

These five Raiders must step up this season or step down

On Tuesday, the Raiders report to training camp. Set to embark on their 2021 season in which there is a lot riding. Some have a lot more riding on this season than others.

Not every year has to be THE year for every player. Some guys have a past of great play that gives them the benefit of the doubt for a down season while others will still be given time to reach their full potential. Some, however, are set to face seasons where it could be crucial to step up or step down. Here are five for the Raiders this season.

5. DT Solomon Thomas

The former third overall pick started his career having a fairly standard rookie season. The kind that suggests there’s talent there, but it’s still to be developed. Then his career didn’t quite take off from there.

Thomas spent four seasons with the team that selected him and gave him a short trip from his dorm room at Stanford to nearby Santa Clara. But the 49ers let him walk with no fifth-year option. Now he signs on to a one-year deal with the Raiders, hoping to prove that a change of scheme and position (5-tech DE to 3-tech DT) will prove to the league that he is no bust. This could be his best chance to do that.

4. S Johnathan Abram

A lost rookie season gave way to a rough first full season. And just like that, he’s going into his pivotal third season. Fair or not, the reality is teams don’t wait more than a couple of seasons before deciding whether a player is the answer. Even for a first-round pick like Abram.

The former highly regarded rookie is now on the hot seat. He has a rookie in fourth-round pick Tyree Gillespie breathing down his neck and it’s somewhat of a contract year for Abram because next offseason the team will decide whether they want to use the fifth-year option on him or take their chances. By then they may have already made up their mind whether Abram can be the long-term answer.

3. DE Clelin Ferrell

Like Solomon Thomas, Ferrell was a top-five pick (fourth overall) as a defensive lineman. And like Abram, he was taken in the 2019 draft which means this season will be when the team will need him to show he is worth using a fifth-year option on him.

Ferrell has not shown himself to be worthy of even a first-round selection, let alone a top-five pick. He has just 6.5 sacks in his first two seasons despite 26 starts. Sacks aren’t everything, but if a player isn’t getting them, he has to make up for it in other areas and Ferrell has yet to do that. Now he will have to prove he is worthy of seeing the field over the likes of Maxx Crosby (17 sacks in two seasons) and newcomer Yannick Ngakoue (16 sacks in the past two seasons).

2. QB Derek Carr

His stats have gone up each of the past two seasons. So, there’s that. But the results have been pretty much the same — the team looks like they could be in the playoff hunt at midseason only to tank down the stretch and miss the playoffs.

A lot of people prefer to put the blame solely on the defense. And, yes, the defense has been bad. But while everyone wants to say Derek Carr is not the problem, the correct question should be is he the solution? You can point the finger anywhere else you want, but the bottom line is the quarterback must be able to put the team on his back and pull out some wins even when the rest of the team isn’t ideal. This year he must prove he is that guy or the team must find something who is or could be. That’s just the nature of the business.

1. HC Jon Gruden

Yeah, yeah, he has a ten-year deal, blah blah blah. But does he really? Can you prove that if he were let go after this season that the Raiders would be on the hook for six years and whatever remains of a supposed $100 million deal?

Keep in mind that Gruden has in the past denied that he signed such a deal. He has also said that if he can’t get it done, he wouldn’t take Mark Davis’s money. And that doesn’t necessarily mean he would refuse to be paid for the years he has coached. It could simply mean he won’t take money for years remaining on his contract.

Let’s just suppose, for the sake of argument, that Gruden’s contract is more of a ‘Five years and we’ll see’ kind of deal. He’s already lasted longer than most coaches who couldn’t take a team to the playoffs. His first year he took a team that went 6-10 the previous season and was one season removed from a playoff appearance and led them to a 4-12 record.

And fans like to say the Raiders have seen progress the past couple of seasons, but he’s still not led the Raiders to a winning record in a season and the team is 5-15 over the final six games of each season under him. Do you think he can or should survive another season missing the playoffs? I highly doubt it.

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Free agent DL Solomon Thomas leaving 49ers to join Raiders

Solomon Thomas was the 49ers’ No. 3 overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft, now he’s joining the Las Vegas Raiders.

Solomon Thomas’ career in San Francisco never quite got off the ground. Now the unrestricted free agent defensive lineman is getting a change of scenery and joining the Las Vegas Raiders on a one-year contract according to NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero.

Thomas was the No. 3 overall pick by the 49ers in 2017 and put up 3.0 sacks in his rookie year, but never reached that number again.

In Year 2 he struggled with off-field tragedy and it translated on the field with just 1.0 sacks in 16 games. He posted 2.0 sacks in his third season, then tore his ACL in Week 2 of the 2020 campaign.

Thomas started 30 of his 48 games as a pro, and tallied 6.0 sacks, 16 tackles for loss and 23 quarterback hits.

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